Metal character for patterns



Dec. 19, 1922. 1,438,949.

J. DEAN.

METAL CHARACTER FOR PATTERNS.

FILED OCT. 24,192!- Patented Dec. l9, isaa,

nnirnn ,METAL onanaorns non rema ns-us.

' Application filed Qetober 24, 1921. Serial No. 509,864.

To all whom it may OOTLCGI'WM Be'it known that I. JonN DEAN, a Ci izen oi the United States of America, and a resident of Racine, countyot Racine, State or ll isconsin; have invented certain new and useful Improvements in and Relating to l /letal Characters for Patterns. oiwhich the following is a specification.

This invention relates to certain improvements in metal characters or indicia 'itor application or attaclnnent to patterns employed in preparing molds for the production. of metal castings; and the objects'and nature oi? the invention will be readily understood by those skilled in the art in the light of the following explanation of the accompanyinn drawings illustrating what I now believe to be the preferred mechanical expression or embodiment of my invention from among other formations constructions and combinations of metals and alloys within the spirit and scope thereof.

Those skilled in the pattern makei."sart are :lamiliar with the common brass and white metal pattern letters and other characters of commerce. These characters are made of brass "for metal patterns and are usually secured to such metal castings by theuse of solder. The so'called white metal lette of commerce are used for wood patterns and are usually secured thereto by shellac or other adhesive with or without the use oi small brads. These white metal letters are usually composed oi type metal or other comparatively soft low melting;- point alloys. The white metal characters are not used on metal patterns because they would not stand up under the hard usage to which such patterns are subjected in actual. practice and because ordinary solder cannot be employed for securing such characters owing to the comparatively low temperature at which the white metal characters melt. The brass pat tern characters are expensive mainly because of the high melting point of lnJ-ass and the consequent necessity of melting the metal in crucibles and casting the same in sand mold and the resulting excessive amount of handling and hand finishing worl: required to individually prepare each separate character for the market.

It is an object of my invention to produce white metal or alloy pattern characters having a tight hard metal shell or jacket whereby such characters can be produced at a comparatively low cost and can be successfully secured to and used on metal patterns.

lVith these and other obgects in view, my

invention consists in certain novel features in construction and in combination. as in a novel. and advantageous article. as more fully and particularly set forth and specified hereinafter. i i i l 'iierring to the accompanying drawings;

Fig. 1 shows a pattern character in plan View. and i Fig. 2 cross section on the line 22, Fig. l; the character being shown in the drawings on an enlarged scale for purposes of illustration.

Pattern characters -so-called lettersinclude not only letters and n.umerais,'but

also special marks, trade marks and various indications for attachment to patterns and consequent reproductions in the sand molds and in'the articles cast in such molds, all as will be understood by those skilled in the art. Hence, the term characters is herein employed in a broad generic sense to include all indicia. for attachment to patterns, and my invention is not limited to such ii'idicia in the form of letters of the alphabet one o'l? which I happen to illustrate for purposes oi explan atio-n.

The pattern character of my invention consists ot a soft or white metal body i completely encased and enclosed in a hard metal retaining jacket, shell or case 2. The metal body is n'el erably composed. oil a low fusing point alloy that can be easily and inexpensively melted and produced in various forms by casting in metal molds or by any other suitable process. For this purpose I prefer to employ an alloy that does not 1 sis or by any suitable method of depositing" metal.

The soft metal pattern characters are first produced in finished condition andperfect form ready for use as Wood pattern characters. i. e., for use on wood patterns. The hard metal is then deposited on the surfaces of the finished complete soft metal character and forms a jacket exactly conforming to such surfaces and hence produces a perfect complete hard metal-exterior pattern character. The hard metal jacket forms an intimate part of the soft metal character, in effect an integral part thereof, and is impervious to serve as a container for the soft metal.

The encased characters can be secured to metal patterns soldering even by the use of the ordinary solder which has a fusing point higher than that of the alloy of the characters. If the temperature employed in soldering the characters is sufficiently high to fuse the soft metal of the characters, no difficulty results, as the copper (or other hard metal jacket) retains the alloy and maintains the proper form and shape of each character.

The hard jacket protects the soft metal interiors against blows and rough usage, and hence pattern characters can serve the purposes of the common solid cast brass pattern letters, and yet can be produced at far less expense in the process of production as Well as in raw material.

These softmetal filled hard metal encased letters and other characters are adapted for sign and other Work Where such characters are secured to 'metalplates or other bodies by soldering.

\Vh'at I claim is:

1. A pattern character consisting of a soft alloy body and a copper enclosing jacket.

2. A metal letter or other character for attachment to a metal body by soldering,

consisting of a soft low-fusing point body,

and a high fusing point hard metal retaining' jacket completely enclosing said body.

3. A pattern character consisting of a body composed of a low'fusing point alloy that includes antimony as an ingredient, and an exterior high fusing point hard metal jacket completely encasing said body.

JOHN DEAN. 

